U.S. stocks decline after Trump speech

U.S. stocks decline after Trump speech
(Photo byhttps://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42540028 Michael Vadon – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0)

NEW YORK—U.S. stocks retreated Thursday, with the Nasdaq snapping a seven-day winning streak, as investors continued to digest remarks from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 63.28 points, or 0.32 percent, to 19,891.00. The S&P 500 lost 4.88 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,270.44. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 16.16 points, or 0.29 percent, to 5,547.49.

Investors continue to digest Trump’s remarks. Trump held his first news conference Wednesday since the election, and analysts expected to get a clearer picture on trade, tax plans and fiscal stimulus from the new administration. However, the conference concluded without providing details on those policies.

Health-care and biotechnology stocks fell Thursday after Trump took shots at pharmaceutical industry. Trump said the drug industry was “getting away with murder” and called for “new bidding procedures,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

Markets were also awaiting the start of the fourth quarter earnings season later this week, when several financial giants report their numbers.

Traders closely followed curves of the financial sectors, which has posted a sharp rally since the U.S. Presidential Election Day.

The latest data from Thomson Reuters showed that the S&P 500 companies’ blended earnings in the fourth quarter of 2016 are expected to rise 5.7 percent year on year, while the revenues are forecast to increase 4.4 percent.

On the economic front, in the week ending Jan. 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 247,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week’s revised level, said the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.

The 4-week moving average was 256,500, a decrease of 1,750 from the previous week’s revised average.

In a separate report, the department announced that prices for U.S. imports rose 0.4 percent in December, after a 0.2-percent decline the previous month, while export prices advanced in December, increasing 0.3 percent following a 0.1-percent decrease in November.